Pocketful of Memory Cards

You might be surprised to see that this post is not about a house on the lake that's stolen my heart.   Regular readers might also be shocked to see that it's a STORE that I've fallen in love with. I've told you I hate shopping, but as I look back on my blog posts I'm discovering that's not the whole truth.  My  aversion to shopping seems to be strongest when it comes to groceries or clothes.  And then there's the fact that I don't like parting with my money unless I really have to.  I don't like shopping in chain stores and I don't enjoy shopping in stores that carry the same items as every other big box store in the country. I do enjoy shopping in one-of-a-kind stores, stores that recycle and re-purpose items, stores that carry things that you don't see everywhere, stores with friendly, helpful staff.   I've visited Lakehouse twice in the last two weeks and discovered that this lovely shop at the corner of Bernard and Ellis mee...

* update 2015.  This is an old post and the store is no longer located here infact as far as I can tell it's gone out of business.  If you have other information please let me know in the comments. If you've been following along, you'll know that shopping features prominently on my "Things I'd rather not do" list.  The more often I go downtown however, the more I realize that downtown Kelowna is a great place to shop, full of quirky little stores and boutiques that carry original works and out of the ordinary things you won't find in every chain store in the mall.   I thought I'd take the opportunity to promote some of these shops, especially while the west end of Bernard Avenue is under construction and might appreciate a little more promotion. Since I've been in decorating mode for the past six months I thought I'd start with Woodcreek Cottage Home Decor and Gifts owned by Sandy Hyatt and Diane Scott. You can enter the store ...

I needed to visit  Mosaic Books yesterday so while I was downtown I poked around Bernard Avenue.   I was pleasantly surprised to see how busy it was despite the "revitalization" underway  at the avenue's west end.   Mosaic was full of people as was  Funktional , owned by the creative and vivacious Chantal Coutour. Nicole and Marisa had a steady stream of stylish young women coming and going while I was visiting  Blonde . I only saw a few brave souls along the boardwalk however.  It was sunny but chilly! Earlier in the day we'd been to Cedar Creek Beach with the dogs and though the water looked frigid,  Max didn't seem to mind.  Without any hesitation, he wandered into the lake for a drink.

On a  lunchtime walk a couple of weeks ago, my friend Janet and I were inspired to bring our cameras along next time. Next time was two days ago and here are my results.   I used a lens that my husband bought recently, so I'm really in the learning stages of what I can do with it.  It's a 24mm 1:2.8 Nikon and though it was a bit frustrating not being able to zoom in, I really love the crispness of the photos with this lens.  Janet used her iPhone and got some really cool shots that you can see if you're her Facebook friend.  Having an Artist's Date with a fellow artist was a great idea. Though I didn't copy her shots, it was really inspiring to see our surroundings through someone else's eyes and the next time I'm out taking photos I'll be feeling her influence. Near the end of Brandt's Creek Linear Park I have no idea what those colourful blobs are. It's the only photo with them.  Most likely the effect of light and moistur...

Ran some errands along Bernard Avenue this afternoon and took a couple of shots of the downtown brick work. The Bean Scene is part of the Bernard Avenue Heritage Store fronts between Pandosy and Abbott.  The funky coffee shop's rustic sign fits in perfectly. Across from the Sails, new brick that looks old fronts the line up of popular eat-in and take out restaurants.  For all you ice cream fans out there I can tell you with great certainty that Moo-Lix is open for the season!